Welcome to the dungeon, sorceress–where every man, woman and demon is against you.
Freelance sorceress Kaydana seeks her fortune in the city only to find it overrun with like-minded magical entrepreneurs. To make ends meet, she takes a commission from the seductive golden-skinned Tati.
Kaydana reluctantly agrees to rescue Tati’s lover from a sadistic king and his demonic devourer, knowing she’s no match against the castle’s mystical protections. Amid plotting, intrigue and sexual trickery, the powers hidden within the mysterious Staff of Ishlun begin to emerge and awaken Kaydana’s darker sensual desires.
Kaydana and The Sword of Ishlun is the first tale in a sizzling sword and sorcery series.
Warning, contains strong sexual content, f/f, f/f/m.
PM: Today we’re talking to Nyki Blatchley, Lyrical Press erotic romance author. Nyki and Kaydana, welcome to the Playground! Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?
NB: Many thanks for this opportunity. Well, about me? I was born in Canada, though I left at 11months old, so I don’t remember a thing about it, and I grew up just outside London. I came from a house full of books and was read to pretty much from the time I was born, so I suppose it was natural to start making up stories and then write then when I learnt how. I wrote my first “book” when I was four, about a talking horse, and I haven’t stopped since.
I graduated from Keele University with a degree in Greek Studies and English. That hasn’t been particularly related to my working life, but I get annoyed if people suggest I haven’t “used” my degree. As far as I’m concerned, I use it every day of my life.
I’ve had a variety of jobs: bookselling, residential care, the obligatory stint at McDonalds, packing engineering components, even a brief go at being an artist’s model. I currently work in media research.
Besides writing, I’ve also performed my own poetry and music all over London and beyond – I pre-record the music and describe it as “The Invisible Band”. During the 90s, I spent a lot of time at the (sadly now defunct) Bunjies Coffee House, which has hosted musicians ranging from Bob Dylan and Paul Simon to David Bowie and Rod Stewart, and later an amazing gig by the late Jeff Buckley.
Besides my work with Lyrical, and before that Dark Eden, I’ve had twenty-odd short stories published, mostly fantasy, as well as numerous poems, and my fantasy novel At An Uncertain Hour is published this month by StoneGarden.
PM: You’ve been writing since the age of four. So you’re definitely no stranger to writing. You’ve written everything from poetry to fantasy. Your books contain hot, sexual action. How did you begin writing erotica?
NB: I never avoided sex in my fiction, if I felt it belonged there, but deliberate erotica is a much more recent development. I write mainly fantasy, and I discovered that some of the writers I know online were also writing fantasy or paranormal erotica. I read some and, besides enjoying it, I felt that this was something I could do. I wrote several erotic short stories, a couple of which were published in anthologies by Xcite Books, and then moved to novellas, which gave more space to fit in plot, character AND the sex. Several were published by Dark Eden Press, and when that unfortunately folded, I was lucky enough to find in Lyrical a publisher that’s equally professional and author-friendly.
In a lot of ways, I don’t really find the techniques of writing erotica that different from other fiction: it’s all based on writing in a way to convey most vividly what’s happening, developing characters that the reader will care about (whether to love or hate) and giving them a gripping plot to play out. I think the most important specific skill in erotica is to make the sex not just something that periodically interrupts the action, but something that’s central to the development of both plot and character. I believe that a successful erotic story has to be about the sexuality of the characters, and especially of the protagonist.
PM: A little birdie also told us that you’re somewhat of a history buff. How about that?
NB: I’ve always loved history. It’s very much a family thing – my father was very much into 17th century history, especially Cromwell and the Civil War, and my mother loved Ancient Greece. I’ve always shared that, but I’ve also always been fascinated by medieval Europe. When I was little, I loved anything to do with knights, whether it was King Arthur or seriously studying how knights lived and fought. Those are still my two favourite periods, but I love pretty much any history – less so from about the 18th century onward, but that’s still interesting.
For a while, I was involved in English Civil War reconstruction – usually fighting for England’s true King against the rebellious Parliament, but sometimes fighting for the God’s own Parliament against the tyrant King. It didn’t really matter – it was fun either way. I was in the pike-block, wielding a sixteen-foot weapon in manoeuvres that bore more resemblance to a Rugby scrum than anything, and we also had living history camps. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it became impractical to carry on for a while, and I haven’t had time to get back into anything of the kind.
I suppose what I love most about history is much the same as fantasy – being able to see the way people act in very different societies and circumstances. One of my non-erotic projects is a series of fantasy stories set in an imaginary European country called Westria. So far, the stories have ranged from the 8th century to the 21st, and mirrored the changes Europe has undergone during that time.
PM: Your most current release is Kaydana and the Staff of Ishlun, Book one in the Kaydana series. I have to say, Kaydana is a very interesting woman. Well I don’t have to tell you that. She’s a self-employed sorceress, doing what she has to do to get by. What inspired you to write about her?
NB: About eighteen months ago, having written a couple of stand-alone erotic fantasy novellas, I had the idea of writing a series of erotic sword and sorcery stories, using the various standard models (the rescue, the treasure-hunt, the lost city etc) but with an erotic twist and hopefully with interesting characters. I didn’t want to use the standard barbarian warrior (or warrioress) and I decided a freelance sorceress would be a main character worth exploring. Once I’d fixed on that, Kaydana just came naturally, and she’s been very easy to work with.
Although my main characters are each different (and of both sexes), I long ago recognised, and stopped trying to fight, a tendency for them to be strong, independent people who live off their wits, with few ties and an insatiable wanderlust. Although I don’t actually base characters on myself (or on anyone in particular) in the way some authors do, I suppose that aspect has an element of wish-fulfilment in it. Kaydana certainly fits into this type.
PM: So Kaydana, you left home when you were only nine years old. What prompted you to leave?
Kaydana: Oh, hello. Um, I greet you in the name of whatever gods you worship.
It wasn’t exactly my choice to leave home at nine, though it was probably the best thing that happened to me. I was born with power, you see, and… well, I was a child. What would you do, if you were a nine-year-old with power who had to do chores before she could play? Or wanted to impress the other kids? I began to realise some people were making the sign against evil at me, but I didn’t really understand why. No-one did it when Manina was clever, or Feshil ran fast, and I was just using what I was good at too.
I think it was the stable that really decided them. You see, they’d told me I had to clean out the stable, and everyone else was down by the river, swimming. So I did it quickly. The stable was clean by the time I’d finished, but unfortunately only the few bits of it that were still standing. It took hours to round the horses up, and some of them were spooked for weeks, but none were hurt.
I got shut in my room, and next day they told me I was being sent away to be apprenticed to the sorcerer, Master Lourim. I was… well, I suppose I was a bit sad, a bit scared and a bit excited. My father drove me in his cart to Lourim’s tower, three days journey away, and left me there. I never went back to the village.
PM: You seem to have an umm…very healthy appetite towards sex, for instance, Tati. Would you say you’d prefer the comfort of woman, men, or…other?
Kaydana: Um, can I just say yes? Well, how can I choose? It depends on my mood to some extent, but it also depends on who I happen to meet. In general, I go for a man if I want someone to fuck my brains out and leave me sore, and a woman if I want someone who can tease me and make me come over and over. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed female lovers who’ve taken me hard and brutally and guys who’ve spent ages licking my clit to make me come. It’s all good.
I suppose I mostly like men with plenty of muscle and big cocks. If it’s for one night, the fewer brains the better, but I really like a man who’s decent and morally grounded. Trouble is, they’re not the ones I actually tend to be attracted to, and I get myself in a lot of trouble. Women – well, I like a girl who’s fun and a bit naughty. Big and buxom is good, so’s slim and petite, but she’s got to be able to use her tongue well – and not just for talking. And other? Well, I’ve known a few of those, but I think Nyki’s going to write about some of them. Mmm, I’m getting wet remembering.
Of course, if I’m drunk, that all goes out the window – I’ll fuck whoever’s available. I’ve woken up beside some very strange bedfellows.
Oh, and you mentioned Tati. Well, you’ve got to love a Sheovin, haven’t you? Tati’s the first person I ever met who made me feel like a prude. They’re so cute and innocent, but they just seem to be permanently horny, and they’ll fuck any time, anywhere, with anyone. Definitely my kind of people.
PM: Without giving too much away, how do Lourim & the Staff of Ishlun fit into your life?
Kaydana: As I said, Lourim was my teacher from the age of nine till I left at fifteen. He was… well, let’s say an adequate sorcerer. He’d be no match for me now, but he was a very good teacher, even if I didn’t always appreciate it at the time. He drilled all the techniques into me till I wanted to scream. I mean, when you’re nine or ten, you don’t really get the need to meditate and focus your mind, but I’m glad now he kept me at it, or I wouldn’t be half the sorceress I am.
His reputation as a sorcerer was mainly based on the Staff. He didn’t know its name or where it came from, though he believed it was from the lost city of Arlh, but I really fell in love with it. I could see how much more powerful it made Lourim, and by the time I was fifteen, I knew I was already far better than him. And… well, it seemed a waste for it to just hang around in a tower doing little domestic spells.
I decided I’d learnt all I could from him. I wanted to see the world, and I wanted to do it with the Staff, so I seduced Lourim. At the time, I felt a bit… well, I thought he was old, though he wasn’t really so old, and he was quite good-looking. And… um… well, let’s say I discovered he didn’t just have one impressive staff. So I wore him out, cast him into an enchanted sleep and left with the Staff. I expect he was angry, but he always taught me never to let your guard down. He should have listened to himself, shouldn’t he?
PM: Can you two tell us a little about what’s up next for Kaydana? Any work in progress you’d like to share?
Nyki: I have two further Kaydana novellas scheduled for publication by Lyrical: Kaydana and the Ruby of Beguilement, and Kaydana and the Crown of the Worlds, and I’m now writing the fourth, Kaydana and the Dragon Prince. I’m planning two more, certainly, then we’ll see. The sixth story will bring some elements of the series to a close, and I’ll probably take a break from it after that and work on other things, but I wouldn’t rule out writing more about Kaydana after that.
Kaydana: Well, my work in progress at the moment is the Queen of Daeish-Vlarh: fabulously rich, fabulously powerful and fabulously gorgeous, not to mention young and in need of guidance by a wise sorceress. You really should see her: dusky complexion, long black hair, big black eyes and perfect boobs. Unfortunately, she still assumes a lover has to be a man, but I think she fancies me, even though she thinks it’s just friendship. If I can just get her drunk, I’m pretty sure she’ll let me show her what a tongue up her pussy feels like. After that, she won’t be able to get enough of me, I can promise you that.
PM: Thank you both for taking the time to drop in and chat with us today. We wish you all the best with Kaydana and the Staff of Ishlun-Book One, and hopefully you’ll stop in and chat with us about book two. This author can surely say I thoroughly enjoyed reading book one and cannot wait for the second edition.
Kaydana and the Staff of Ishlun
by Nyki Blatchley
Cover by Renee Rocco
$2.50
Published by Lyrical Press Inc.
Buy a copy here
Nyki Blatchley, Hoddesdon, Herts, United Kingdom
He’s an author of both erotic and none-erotic fantasy stories, as well as poetry and music. Besides writing (and reading, of course) he’s passionate about history of many periods, but especially classical Greece and medieval Europe, and loves to learn anything.
Drop by and visit Nyki Blatchley at http://www.freewebs.com/nykiblatchley
Email: nyki27@talk21.com
Kaydana and the Staff of Ishlun
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